a poem in my pocket

~ eight years and 1000 “follows” ~

Thank you, dear readers, and WordPress!

frank(ly) i thank ya

not to mess with my tanka

(syllabic rut stuck)

why can’t japanese mora

fit my english euphora?

Frank J. Tassone challenges us to “meet the bar” of tanka/kyoka writing at dVerse poets pub.I had learned strict syllabic writing of these forms so was surprised by Frank’s notes:

“Now, a brief word on tanka/kyoka and syllabic writing. Beginners are often taught that both tanka and kyoka need to be written in no more than 31 syllables, usually broken up into a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.  However, an English syllable is a different linguistic unit from a Japanese mora, and the counts refer to mora, not syllable. If an English-language writer of Japanese forms wants to write accurately, the proper syllable count for a haiku/senryu would be 10-12, and a tanka/kyoka 20-24.”

life portals bear import
more than ports of call
they demand deportment

choose to step through
this door to the other side
as it shuts quietly behind

there’s no going back now

the goodbyes and hellos of
these unmasked emotions
express momentous change

leave outgrown past for
future’s fresh opportunities
every end is new beginning

I stare at empty nest as our fourth son is now married and moved out…and Anmol (HA) hosts dVerse poetics with interesting with “portals” prompt.  How fitting!